1
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Kelly CA, Blain B, Sharot T. "How" web searches change under stress. Sci Rep 2024; 14:15147. [PMID: 38956247 PMCID: PMC11220009 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65895-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
To adjust to stressful environments, people seek information. Here, we show that in response to stressful public and private events the high-level features of information people seek online alter, reflecting their motives for seeking knowledge. We first show that when people want information to guide action they selectively ask "How" questions. Next, we reveal that "How" searches submitted to Google increased dramatically during the pandemic (controlling for search volume). Strikingly, the proportion of these searches predicted weekly self-reported stress of ~ 17K individuals. To rule out third factors we manipulate stress and find that "How" searches increase in response to stressful, personal, events. The findings suggest that under stress people ask questions to guide action, and mental state is reflected in features that tap into why people seek information rather than the topics they search for. Tracking such features may provide clues regrading population stress levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Kelly
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK.
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, USA.
| | - Bastien Blain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Tali Sharot
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK.
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, USA.
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2
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Feng YY, Bromberg-Martin ES, Monosov IE. Dorsal raphe neurons integrate the values of reward amount, delay, and uncertainty in multi-attribute decision-making. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114341. [PMID: 38878290 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is implicated in psychiatric disorders that feature impaired sensitivity to reward amount, impulsivity when facing reward delays, and risk-seeking when confronting reward uncertainty. However, it has been unclear whether and how DRN neurons signal reward amount, reward delay, and reward uncertainty during multi-attribute value-based decision-making, where subjects consider these attributes to make a choice. We recorded DRN neurons as monkeys chose between offers whose attributes, namely expected reward amount, reward delay, and reward uncertainty, varied independently. Many DRN neurons signaled offer attributes, and this population tended to integrate the attributes in a manner that reflected monkeys' preferences for amount, delay, and uncertainty. After decision-making, in response to post-decision feedback, these same neurons signaled signed reward prediction errors, suggesting a broader role in tracking value across task epochs and behavioral contexts. Our data illustrate how the DRN participates in value computations, guiding theories about the role of the DRN in decision-making and psychiatric disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang-Yang Feng
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Ilya E Monosov
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington University Pain Center, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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3
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Kobayashi K, Kable JW. Neural mechanisms of information seeking. Neuron 2024; 112:1741-1756. [PMID: 38703774 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
We ubiquitously seek information to make better decisions. Particularly in the modern age, when more information is available at our fingertips than ever, the information we choose to collect determines the quality of our decisions. Decision neuroscience has long adopted empirical approaches where the information available to decision-makers is fully controlled by the researchers, leaving neural mechanisms of information seeking less understood. Although information seeking has long been studied in the context of the exploration-exploitation trade-off, recent studies have widened the scope to investigate more overt information seeking in a way distinct from other decision processes. Insights gained from these studies, accumulated over the last few years, raise the possibility that information seeking is driven by the reward system signaling the subjective value of information. In this piece, we review findings from the recent studies, highlighting the conceptual and empirical relationships between distinct literatures, and discuss future research directions necessary to establish a more comprehensive understanding of how individuals seek information as a part of value-based decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Kobayashi
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Joseph W Kable
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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4
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Zhou D, Bornstein AM. Expanding horizons in reinforcement learning for curious exploration and creative planning. Behav Brain Sci 2024; 47:e118. [PMID: 38770877 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x23003394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Curiosity and creativity are expressions of the trade-off between leveraging that with which we are familiar or seeking out novelty. Through the computational lens of reinforcement learning, we describe how formulating the value of information seeking and generation via their complementary effects on planning horizons formally captures a range of solutions to striking this balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dale Zhou
- Neurobiology and Behavior, 519 Biological Sciences Quad, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA ://dalezhou.com
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Qureshey, Research Laboratory, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA ://aaron.bornstein.org/
| | - Aaron M Bornstein
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Qureshey, Research Laboratory, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA ://aaron.bornstein.org/
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, 2318 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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5
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Singh A, Murayama K. Creativity is motivated by novelty. Curiosity is triggered by uncertainty. Behav Brain Sci 2024; 47:e115. [PMID: 38770851 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x23003291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Although creativity and curiosity can be similarly construed as knowledge-building processes, their underlying motivation is fundamentally different. Specifically, curiosity drives organisms to seek information that reduces uncertainty so that they can make a better prediction about the world. On the contrary, creative processes aim to connect distant pieces of information, maximizing novelty and utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditya Singh
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
| | - Kou Murayama
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany ://motivationsciencelab.com
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami City, Kochi, Japan
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6
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Holm L, Schrater P. Novelty seeking is neither necessary nor sufficient for curiosity or creativity, instead both curiosity and creativity may reflect an epistemic drive. Behav Brain Sci 2024; 47:e101. [PMID: 38770852 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x23003321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Novelty is neither necessary nor sufficient to link curiosity and creativity as stated in the target article. We point out the article's logical shortcomings, outline preconditions that may link curiosity and creativity, and suggest that curiosity and creativity may be expressions of a common epistemic drive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linus Holm
- Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden ://www.umu.se/personal/linus-holm/
| | - Paul Schrater
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, ://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/schrater#educational-background-&-specialties
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7
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Poli F, O'Reilly JX, Mars RB, Hunnius S. Curiosity and the dynamics of optimal exploration. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:441-453. [PMID: 38413257 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
What drives our curiosity remains an elusive and hotly debated issue, with multiple hypotheses proposed but a cohesive account yet to be established. This review discusses traditional and emergent theories that frame curiosity as a desire to know and a drive to learn, respectively. We adopt a model-based approach that maps the temporal dynamics of various factors underlying curiosity-based exploration, such as uncertainty, information gain, and learning progress. In so doing, we identify the limitations of past theories and posit an integrated account that harnesses their strengths in describing curiosity as a tool for optimal environmental exploration. In our unified account, curiosity serves as a 'common currency' for exploration, which must be balanced with other drives such as safety and hunger to achieve efficient action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Poli
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Jill X O'Reilly
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sabine Hunnius
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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8
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Aberg KC, Paz R. The neurobehavioral correlates of exploration without learning: Trading off value for explicit, prospective, and variable information gains. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113880. [PMID: 38416639 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Exploration is typically motivated by gaining information, with previous research showing that potential information gains drive a "directed" type of exploration. Yet, this research usually studies exploration in the context of learning paradigms and does not directly manipulate multiple levels of information gain. Here, we present a task that isolates learning from decision-making and controls the magnitude of prospective information gains. As predicted, participants explore more with larger future information gains. Both value gains and information gains, at a trial-by-trial level, engage the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the ventral striatum (VStr), the amygdala, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and the anterior insula (aINS). Moreover, individual sensitivities to value gains and information gains modulate the vmPFC, dACC, and aINS, but the amygdala and VStr are modulated only by individual sensitivities to information gains. Overall, we identify the neural circuitry of information-based exploration and its relationship with inter-individual exploration biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristoffer C Aberg
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
| | - Rony Paz
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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9
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Embrey JR, Li AX, Liew SX, Newell BR. The effect of noninstrumental information on reward learning. Mem Cognit 2024:10.3758/s13421-024-01537-4. [PMID: 38393534 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-024-01537-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Investigations of information-seeking often highlight people's tendency to forgo financial reward in return for advance information about future outcomes. Most of these experiments use tasks in which reward contingencies are described to participants. The use of such descriptions leaves open the question of whether the opportunity to obtain such noninstrumental information influences people's ability to learn and represent the underlying reward structure of an experimental environment. In two experiments, participants completed a two-armed bandit task with monetary incentives where reward contingencies were learned via trial-by-trial experience. We find, akin to description-based tasks, that participants are willing to forgo financial reward to receive information about a delayed, unchangeable outcome. Crucially, however, there is little evidence this willingness to pay for information is driven by an inaccurate representation of the reward structure: participants' representations approximated the underlying reward structure regardless of the presence of advance noninstrumental information. The results extend previous conclusions regarding the intrinsic value of information to an experience-based domain and highlight challenges of probing participants' memories for experienced rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake R Embrey
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, Australia.
| | - Amy X Li
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, Australia
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Shi Xian Liew
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Ben R Newell
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, Australia
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10
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Bromberg-Martin ES, Feng YY, Ogasawara T, White JK, Zhang K, Monosov IE. A neural mechanism for conserved value computations integrating information and rewards. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:159-175. [PMID: 38177339 PMCID: PMC10774124 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01511-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Behavioral and economic theory dictate that we decide between options based on their values. However, humans and animals eagerly seek information about uncertain future rewards, even when this does not provide any objective value. This implies that decisions are made by endowing information with subjective value and integrating it with the value of extrinsic rewards, but the mechanism is unknown. Here, we show that human and monkey value judgements obey strikingly conserved computational principles during multi-attribute decisions trading off information and extrinsic reward. We then identify a neural substrate in a highly conserved ancient structure, the lateral habenula (LHb). LHb neurons signal subjective value, integrating information's value with extrinsic rewards, and the LHb predicts and causally influences ongoing decisions. Neurons in key input areas to the LHb largely signal components of these computations, not integrated value signals. Thus, our data uncover neural mechanisms of conserved computations underlying decisions to seek information about the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yang-Yang Feng
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Takaya Ogasawara
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - J Kael White
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kaining Zhang
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Ilya E Monosov
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Pain Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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11
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Gordon J, Chierichetti F, Panconesi A, Pezzulo G. Information foraging with an oracle. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0295005. [PMID: 38153955 PMCID: PMC10754449 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
During ecological decisions, such as when foraging for food or selecting a weekend activity, we often have to balance the costs and benefits of exploiting known options versus exploring novel ones. Here, we ask how individuals address such cost-benefit tradeoffs during tasks in which we can either explore by ourselves or seek external advice from an oracle (e.g., a domain expert or recommendation system). To answer this question, we designed two studies in which participants chose between inquiring (at a cost) for expert advice from an oracle, or to search for options without guidance, under manipulations affecting the optimal choice. We found that participants showed a greater propensity to seek expert advice when it was instrumental to increase payoff (study A), and when it reduced choice uncertainty, above and beyond payoff maximization (study B). This latter result was especially apparent in participants with greater trait-level intolerance of uncertainty. Taken together, these results suggest that we seek expert advice for both economic goals (i.e., payoff maximization) and epistemic goals (i.e., uncertainty minimization) and that our decisions to ask or not ask for advice are sensitive to cost-benefit tradeoffs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Gordon
- University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
| | | | | | - Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
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12
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Elsaid S, Wang R, Kloiber S, Le Foll B, Hassan AN. Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Brain Sci 2023; 13:1698. [PMID: 38137146 PMCID: PMC10741773 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13121698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition. Consequently, it is common for those affected to resort to cannabis to cope with their symptoms. The primary objective of this study was to understand the differences between motivations for cannabis use in adults with and without SAD. We employed convergent, mixed methods to collect the data. Twenty-six individuals (age: 27.9 ± 7.3 years; 54% female) with and twenty-six (age: 27.4 ± 6.7 years; 50% female) without SAD were administered Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM). Motivations to initiate, continue, and maintain cannabis use were assessed in 12/26 participants in both groups using in-depth interviews. Cannabis weekly consumption was 3.8-fold and frequency 1.3-fold higher in the SAD group. Coping (F = 10.02; p <0.001; η2 = 0.46) and social (F = 2.81; p = 0.036; η2 = 0.19) motivations were also higher in the SAD group, after controlling for age, sex, and current CUD. The need to cope with symptoms of SAD may have been the driving force for repeated cannabis consumption. Psychoeducational programs educating children about the risk of using cannabis to cope with SAD should be implemented in vocational settings early on.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Elsaid
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada; (S.E.); (R.W.); (A.N.H.)
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada;
| | - Ruoyu Wang
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada; (S.E.); (R.W.); (A.N.H.)
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Stefan Kloiber
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada;
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada
| | - Bernard Le Foll
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada; (S.E.); (R.W.); (A.N.H.)
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada;
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, Toronto, ON M5G 1V7, Canada
- Waypoint Research Institute, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Penetanguishene, ON L9M 1G3, Canada
- Addictions Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada
| | - Ahmed N. Hassan
- Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada; (S.E.); (R.W.); (A.N.H.)
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada;
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada
- Addictions Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia
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13
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Modirshanechi A, Kondrakiewicz K, Gerstner W, Haesler S. Curiosity-driven exploration: foundations in neuroscience and computational modeling. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:1054-1066. [PMID: 37925342 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Curiosity refers to the intrinsic desire of humans and animals to explore the unknown, even when there is no apparent reason to do so. Thus far, no single, widely accepted definition or framework for curiosity has emerged, but there is growing consensus that curious behavior is not goal-directed but related to seeking or reacting to information. In this review, we take a phenomenological approach and group behavioral and neurophysiological studies which meet these criteria into three categories according to the type of information seeking observed. We then review recent computational models of curiosity from the field of machine learning and discuss how they enable integrating different types of information seeking into one theoretical framework. Combinations of behavioral and neurophysiological studies along with computational modeling will be instrumental in demystifying the notion of curiosity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kacper Kondrakiewicz
- Neuroelectronics Research Flanders (NERF), Leuven, Belgium; VIB, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neuroscience, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Wulfram Gerstner
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Sebastian Haesler
- Neuroelectronics Research Flanders (NERF), Leuven, Belgium; VIB, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neuroscience, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium.
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14
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Bode S, Jiwa M, Chum C, Frost L, Heekeren HR, Wingenfeld K, Deuter CE. Non-instrumental information seeking is resistant to acute stress. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19505. [PMID: 37945712 PMCID: PMC10636112 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46766-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has shown that people intrinsically value non-instrumental information, which cannot be used to change the outcome of events, but only provides an early resolution of uncertainty. This is true even for information about rather inconsequential events, such as the outcomes of small lotteries. Here we investigated whether participants' willingness to pay for non-instrumental information about the outcome of simple coin-flip lotteries with guaranteed winnings was modulated by acute stress. Stress was induced using the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test (SECPT), and information-seeking choices were compared to a warm water control group. Our results neither support the hypothesis that stress decreases information-seeking by directing cognitive resources away from the relevance of the lotteries, nor the opposite hypothesis that stress increases information-seeking by driving anxiety levels up. Instead, we found that despite successful stress induction, as evidenced by increased saliva cortisol levels in the SECPT group, information valuation was remarkably stable. This finding is in line with recent findings that experimentally increased state anxiety did not modulate non-instrumental information seeking. Together, these results suggest that the aversiveness of "not knowing" is a stable cognitive state and not easily modulated by situational context, such as acute stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Bode
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3010, Australia.
| | - Matthew Jiwa
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3010, Australia
| | - Chelsea Chum
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3010, Australia
| | - Leilani Frost
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3010, Australia
| | - Hauke R Heekeren
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Universität Hamburg, 20148, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Katja Wingenfeld
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 12203, Berlin, Germany
- DZPG (German Center for Mental Health), 12203, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian E Deuter
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 12203, Berlin, Germany.
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15
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Holm L, Wells M. Reliable retrieval is intrinsically rewarding: Recency, item difficulty, study session memory, and subjective confidence predict satisfaction in word-pair recall. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292866. [PMID: 37856440 PMCID: PMC10586604 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The recall of a distant memory may appear satisfying and suggest successful retrieval is inherently rewarding. If the brain incentivizes retrieval attempts on the prospect of an internal retrieval reward, then the desire for that reward might natively reinforce declarative memory access. But what determines the level of retrieval satisfaction? We tested the idea that retrieval attempt uncertainty drives retrieval satisfaction. For instance, the more distant the memory, the more satisfying should it be to successfully retrieve it. Alternatively, the brain issues rewards based on the level of confidence in recall independent of the recall achievement. If so, then more confident retrieval is also more satisfying. In an online experiment containing five Swahili-English word pair study sessions spaced across one week, we tested 30 English-speaking participants' recall satisfaction and memory confidence during learning as well as in a final cued recall test. We hypothesized that retrieval satisfaction should either increase or decrease with retrieval uncertainty as indicated by time since encoding, and how little in overall they recalled from the session. We found that retrieval satisfaction decreased with time since encoding and with study session retrieval performance. Moreover, we found that retrieval confidence and satisfaction ratings were highly related in the experiment. We also found a reliable interaction between confidence and word difficulty indicating that confidently recalled difficult items induced more satisfaction. Thus, the brain appears to reward both retrieval confidence and to a lesser extent, fruitful retrieval effort. Our findings may explain seemingly irrational self-regulated study behavior such as avoiding learning-efficient but difficult training protocols, as effects of a system rationally seeking to accrue intrinsic cognitive reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linus Holm
- Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Michael Wells
- Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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16
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Liew SX, Embrey JR, Newell BR. The non-unitary nature of information preference. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:1966-1974. [PMID: 37076755 PMCID: PMC10716071 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02243-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
Factors affecting information-seeking behaviour can be task-endogenous (e.g., probability of winning a gamble), or task-exogenous (e.g., personality trait measures). Various task-endogenous factors affecting non-instrumental information-seeking behaviour have been identified, but it is unclear how task-exogenous factors affect such behaviour, and if they interact with task-endogenous factors. In an online information seeking experiment (N = 279), we focus on the role that outcome probability, as a task-endogenous factor, has on information preferences. We find reliable preference for advance information on highly probable gains and low preference for highly probable losses. Comparisons with individual trait measures of information preference (e.g., intolerance of uncertainty scale, obsessive-compulsive inventory, information preferences scale) reveal minimal association between these task-exogenous factors with choice task performance. We also find minimal interaction between outcome probability and individual trait measures. Despite the choice task and trait measures purportedly tapping the same (or similar) construct, the absence of clear relationships ultimately suggests a multi-dimensional nature of information preference.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ben R Newell
- School of Psychology, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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17
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Molinaro G, Cogliati Dezza I, Bühler SK, Moutsiana C, Sharot T. Multifaceted information-seeking motives in children. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5505. [PMID: 37679315 PMCID: PMC10485006 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40971-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
From an early age, children need to gather information to learn about their environment. Deciding which knowledge to pursue can be difficult because information can serve several, sometimes competing, purposes. Here, we examine the developmental trajectories of such diverse information-seeking motives. Over five experiments involving 521 children (aged 4-12), we find that school-age children integrate three key factors into their information-seeking choices: whether information reduces uncertainty, is useful in directing action, and is likely to be positive. Choices that likely reveal positive information and are useful for action emerge as early as age 4, followed by choices that reduce uncertainty (at ~age 5). Our results suggest that motives related to usefulness and uncertainty reduction become stronger with age, while the tendency to seek positive news does not show a statistically significant change throughout development. This study reveals how the relative importance of diverging, sometimes conflicting, information-seeking motives emerges throughout development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaia Molinaro
- Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK.
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA.
| | - Irene Cogliati Dezza
- Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sarah Katharina Bühler
- Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Christina Moutsiana
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, London, W1W 6UW, UK
| | - Tali Sharot
- Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK.
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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18
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Feng YY, Bromberg-Martin ES, Monosov IE. Dorsal raphe neurons signal integrated value during multi-attribute decision-making. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.17.553745. [PMID: 37662243 PMCID: PMC10473596 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.17.553745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is implicated in psychiatric disorders that feature impaired sensitivity to reward amount, impulsivity when facing reward delays, and risk-seeking when grappling with reward uncertainty. However, whether and how DRN neurons signal reward amount, reward delay, and reward uncertainty during multi-attribute value-based decision-making, where subjects consider all these attributes to make a choice, is unclear. We recorded DRN neurons as monkeys chose between offers whose attributes, namely expected reward amount, reward delay, and reward uncertainty, varied independently. Many DRN neurons signaled offer attributes. Remarkably, these neurons commonly integrated offer attributes in a manner that reflected monkeys' overall preferences for amount, delay, and uncertainty. After decision-making, in response to post-decision feedback, these same neurons signaled signed reward prediction errors, suggesting a broader role in tracking value across task epochs and behavioral contexts. Our data illustrate how DRN participates in integrated value computations, guiding theories of DRN in decision-making and psychiatric disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang-Yang Feng
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | | | - Ilya E. Monosov
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Washington University Pain Center, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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19
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Ivancovsky T, Baror S, Bar M. A shared novelty-seeking basis for creativity and curiosity. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 47:e89. [PMID: 37547934 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x23002807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Curiosity and creativity are central pillars of human growth and invention. Although they have been studied extensively in isolation, the relationship between them has not yet been established. We propose that both curiosity and creativity emanate from the same mechanism of novelty seeking. We first present a synthesis showing that curiosity and creativity are affected similarly by a number of key cognitive faculties such as memory, cognitive control, attention, and reward. We then review empirical evidence from neuroscience research, indicating that the same brain regions are involved in both curiosity and creativity, focusing on the interplay between three major brain networks: the default mode network, the salience network, and the executive control network. After substantiating the link between curiosity and creativity, we propose a novelty-seeking model (NSM) that underlies them and suggests that the manifestation of the NSM is governed by one's state of mind.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tal Ivancovsky
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan,
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Shira Baror
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Moshe Bar
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan,
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20
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Yagi A, FitzGibbon L, Murayama K, Shinomori K, Sakaki M. Uncertainty drives exploration of negative information across younger and older adults. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 23:809-826. [PMID: 37100958 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-023-01082-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
Although individuals generally avoid negative information, recent research documents that they voluntarily explore negative information to resolve uncertainty. However, it remains unclear (a) whether uncertainty facilitates exploration similarly when exploration is expected to lead to negative, neutral, or positive information, and (b) whether older adults seek negative information to reduce uncertainty like younger adults do. This study addresses the two issues across four experimental studies (N = 407). The results indicate that individuals are more likely to expose themselves to negative information when uncertainty is high. In contrast, when information was expected to be neutral or positive, the uncertainty surrounding it did not significantly alter individuals' exploration behavior. Furthermore, we found that uncertainty increased the exploration of negative information in both older and younger adults. In addition, both younger and older adults chose to explore negative information to reduce uncertainty, even when there were positive or neutral alternatives. In contrast to the age-related similarities in these behavioral measures, older adults demonstrated reduced scores in questionnaires on sensation seeking and curiosity, relative to their counterparts who were younger. These results suggest that information uncertainty has a selective facilitation effect on exploration for negative information and that normal aging does not alter this tendency, despite age-related reductions in self-reported measures of personality traits relevant to information seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayano Yagi
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Hiroshima Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Lily FitzGibbon
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
| | - Kou Murayama
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan
| | - Keizo Shinomori
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan
- School of Informatics, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan
| | - Michiko Sakaki
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan.
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21
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Rischall I, Hunter L, Jensen G, Gottlieb J. Inefficient prioritization of task-relevant attributes during instrumental information demand. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3174. [PMID: 37264004 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38821-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In natural settings, people evaluate complex multi-attribute situations and decide which attribute to request information about. Little is known about how people make this selection and specifically, how they identify individual observations that best predict the value of a multi-attribute situation. Here show that, in a simple task of information demand, participants inefficiently query attributes that have high individual value but are relatively uninformative about a total payoff. This inefficiency is robust in two instrumental conditions in which gathering less informative observations leads to significantly lower rewards. Across individuals, variations in the sensitivity to informativeness is associated with personality metrics, showing negative associations with extraversion and thrill seeking and positive associations with stress tolerance and need for cognition. Thus, people select informative queries using sub-optimal strategies that are associated with personality traits and influence consequential choices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Rischall
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Laura Hunter
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Greg Jensen
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, Reed College, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Jacqueline Gottlieb
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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22
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Wylie J, Gantman A. People are curious about immoral and morally ambiguous others. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7355. [PMID: 37147324 PMCID: PMC10162000 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30312-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Looking to the popularity of superheroes, true crime stories, and anti-heroic characters like Tony Soprano, we investigated whether moral extremity, especially moral badness, piques curiosity. Across five experiments (N = 2429), we examine moral curiosity, testing under what conditions the moral minds of others spark explanation-seeking behavior. In Experiment 1, we find that among the most widely watched Netflix shows in the US over a five-month period, the more immoral the protagonist, the more hours people spent watching. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we find that when given a choice to learn more about morally good, bad, ambiguous, or average others, people preferred to learn more about morally extreme people, both good and bad. Experiment 3 reveals that people are more curious for explanations about (vs. descriptions of) morally bad and ambiguous people compared to morally good ones. Finally, Experiment 4 tests the uniqueness of curiosity for moral ambiguity. We find that people are more drawn to moral rather than aesthetic ambiguity, suggesting that ambiguity, which is cognitively taxing and sometimes avoided, preferentially engenders information seeking in the moral domain. These findings suggest deviations from moral normativity, especially badness, spur curiosity. People are curious about immorality and agents who differ from the norm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Wylie
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA.
| | - Ana Gantman
- The City University of New York Graduate Center, New York, USA
- Brooklyn College, New York, USA
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23
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Hilchey MD, Soman D. Demand for information about potential wins and losses: Does it matter if information matters? JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/bdm.2322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D. Hilchey
- Rotman School of Management University of Toronto 105 St George St Toronto Ontario M5S 3E6 Canada
| | - Dilip Soman
- Rotman School of Management University of Toronto 105 St George St Toronto Ontario M5S 3E6 Canada
- Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Science and Economics, Rotman School of Management University of Toronto 105 St George St Toronto Ontario M5S 3E6 Canada
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24
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Gottlieb J. Emerging Principles of Attention and Information Demand. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1177/09637214221142778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
I review recent literature on information demand and its implications for attention control. I argue that this literature motivates a view of attention as a mechanism that reduces uncertainty by selectively sampling sensory stimuli on the basis of expected information gain (EIG). I discuss emerging evidence on how individuals estimate the two quantities that determine EIG, prior uncertainty and stimulus diagnosticity (predictive accuracy). I also discuss the neural mechanisms that compute EIG and integrate it with rewards in frontoparietal, executive, and neuromodulatory circuits. I end by considering the implications of this framework for a broader understanding of the factors that assign relevance to sensory stimuli and the role of attention in decision making and other cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Gottlieb
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University
- Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University
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25
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Jiwa M, Cooper PS, Chong TTJ, Bode S. Hedonism as a motive for information search: biased information-seeking leads to biased beliefs. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2086. [PMID: 36747063 PMCID: PMC9902457 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29429-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Confirmation bias in information-search contributes to the formation of polarized echo-chambers of beliefs. However, the role of valence on information source selection remains poorly understood. In Experiment 1, participants won financial rewards depending on the outcomes of a set of lotteries. They were not shown these outcomes, but instead could choose to view a prediction of each lottery outcome made by one of two sources. Before choosing their favoured source, participants were first shown a series of example predictions made by each. The sources systematically varied in the accuracy and positivity (i.e., how often they predicted a win) of their predictions. Hierarchical Bayesian modeling indicated that both source accuracy and positivity impacted participants' choices. Importantly, those that viewed more positively-biased information believed that they had won more often and had higher confidence in those beliefs. In Experiment 2, we directly assessed the effect of positivity on the perceived credibility of a source. In each trial, participants watched a single source making a series of predictions of lottery outcomes and rated the strength of their beliefs in each source. Interestingly, positively-biased sources were not seen as more credible. Together, these findings suggest that positively-biased information is sought partly due to the desirable emotional state it induces rather than having enhanced perceived credibility. Information sought on this basis nevertheless produced consequential biased beliefs about the world-state, highlighting a potentially key role for hedonic preferences in information selection and subsequent belief formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Jiwa
- University of Melbourne, School of Psychological Sciences, Melbourne, 3010, Australia.
| | - Patrick S Cooper
- University of Melbourne, School of Psychological Sciences, Melbourne, 3010, Australia.,Monash University, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Melbourne, 3800, Australia
| | - Trevor T-J Chong
- Monash University, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Melbourne, 3800, Australia.,Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, 3004, Australia.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, 3065, Australia
| | - Stefan Bode
- University of Melbourne, School of Psychological Sciences, Melbourne, 3010, Australia
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26
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Lee N, Lazaro V, Wang JJ, Şen HH, Lucca K. Exploring individual differences in infants' looking preferences for impossible events: The Early Multidimensional Curiosity Scale. Front Psychol 2023; 13:1015649. [PMID: 36817372 PMCID: PMC9931910 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1015649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Infants are drawn to events that violate their expectations about the world: they look longer at physically impossible events, such as when a car passes through a wall. Here, we examined whether individual differences in infants' visual preferences for physically impossible events reflect an early form of curiosity, and asked whether caregivers' behaviors, parenting styles, and everyday routines relate to these differences. In Study 1, we presented infants (N = 47, Mage = 16.83 months, range = 10.29-24.59 months) with events that violated physical principles and closely matched possible events. We measured infants' everyday curiosity and related experiences (i.e., caregiver curiosity-promoting activities) through a newly developed curiosity scale, The Early Multidimensional Curiosity Scale (EMCS). Infants' looking preferences for physically impossible events were positively associated with their score on the EMCS, but not their temperament, vocabulary, or caregiver trait curiosity. In Study 2A, we set out to better understand the relation between the EMCS and infants' looking preferences for physically impossible events by assessing the underlying structure of the EMCS with a larger sample of children (N = 211, Mage = 47.63 months, range = 10.29-78.97 months). An exploratory factor analysis revealed that children's curiosity was comprised four factors: Social Curiosity, Broad Exploration, Persistence, and Information-Seeking. Relatedly, caregiver curiosity-promoting activities were composed of five factors: Flexible Problem-Solving, Cognitive Stimulation, Diverse Daily Activities, Child-Directed Play, and Awe-Inducing Activities. In Study 2B (N = 42 infants from Study 1), we examined which aspects of infant curiosity and caregiver behavior predicted infants' looking preferences using the factor structures of the EMCS. Findings revealed that infants' looking preferences were uniquely related to infants' Broad Exploration and caregivers' Awe-Inducing Activities (e.g., nature walks with infants, museum outings). These exploratory findings indicate that infants' visual preferences for physically impossible events may reflect an early form of curiosity, which is related to the curiosity-stimulating environments provided by caregivers. Moreover, this work offers a new comprehensive tool, the Early Multidimensional Curiosity Scale, that can be used to measure both curiosity and factors related to its development, starting in infancy and extending into childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nayen Lee
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Vanessa Lazaro
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States,Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Jinjing Jenny Wang
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Hilal H. Şen
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Akureyri, Akureyri, Iceland,Department of Psychology, MEF University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Kelsey Lucca
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States,*Correspondence: Kelsey Lucca, ✉
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27
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Zada M, Khan J, Saeed I, Zada S, Jun ZY. Curiosity may have killed the cat but it has the power to improve employee creativity. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-04171-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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28
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A Reinforcement Meta-Learning framework of executive function and information demand. Neural Netw 2023; 157:103-113. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2022.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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29
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Romero Verdugo P, van Lieshout LLF, de Lange FP, Cools R. Choice Boosts Curiosity. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:99-110. [PMID: 36287129 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221082637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
In our connected era, we spend significant time and effort satisfying our curiosity. Often, we choose which information we seek, but sometimes the selection is made for us. We hypothesized that humans exhibit enhanced curiosity in the context of choice. We designed a task in which healthy participants saw two lotteries on each trial. On some trials, participants chose which lottery to play. On other trials, the lottery was selected for them. Participants then indicated their curiosity about the outcome of the to-be-played lottery via self-report ratings (Experiment 1, N = 34) or willingness-to-wait decisions (Experiment 2, N = 34). We found that participants exhibited higher curiosity ratings and greater willingness to wait for the outcome of lotteries they had chosen than for lotteries that had been selected for them (controlling for initial preference). This demonstrates that choice boosts curiosity, which may have implications for boosting learning, memory, and motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Romero Verdugo
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University.,Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre
| | - Lieke L F van Lieshout
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University.,Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre
| | - Floris P de Lange
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University
| | - Roshan Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University.,Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre
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30
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Fitzgibbon L, Murayama K. Counterfactual curiosity: motivated thinking about what might have been. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210340. [PMID: 36314158 PMCID: PMC9620751 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Counterfactual information, information about what might have been, forms the content of counterfactual thoughts and emotions like regret and relief. Recent research suggests that human adults and children, as well as rhesus monkeys, demonstrate ‘counterfactual curiosity’: they are motivated to seek out counterfactual information after making decisions. Based on contemporary theories of curiosity and information seeking and a broad range of empirical literature, we suggest multiple heterogeneous psychological processes that contribute to people's motivation for counterfactual information. This includes processes that are identified in the curiosity literature more generally—the potential use of counterfactual information for adaptive decision making (its long-term instrumental value) and the drive to reduce uncertainty. Additionally, we suggest that counterfactual information may be particularly alluring because of its role in causal reasoning; its relationship with prediction and decision making; and its potential to fulfil emotion regulation and self-serving goals. Some future directions have been suggested, including investigating the role of individual differences in counterfactual curiosity on learning and wellbeing. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Thinking about possibilities: mechanisms, ontogeny, functions and phylogeny’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Fitzgibbon
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
| | - Kou Murayama
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, Japan
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31
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Cogliati Dezza I, Maher C, Sharot T. People adaptively use information to improve their internal states and external outcomes. Cognition 2022; 228:105224. [PMID: 35850045 PMCID: PMC10510028 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Information can strongly impact people's affect, their level of uncertainty and their decisions. It is assumed that people seek information with the goal of improving all three. But are they successful at achieving this goal? Answering this question is important for assessing the impact of self-driven information consumption on people's well-being. Here, over five experiments (total N = 727) we show that participants accurately predict the impact of information on their internal states (e.g., affect and cognition) and external outcomes (e.g., material rewards), and use these predictions to guide information-seeking choices. A model incorporating participants' subjective expectations regarding the impact of information on their affective, cognitive, and material outcomes accounted for information-seeking choices better than a model that included only objective proxies of those measures. This model also accounted for individual differences in information-seeking choices. By balancing considerations of the impact of information on affective, cognitive and material outcomes when seeking knowledge, participants became happier, more certain and made better decisions when they sought information relative to when they did not, suggesting that the actual consequences of receiving information aligned with their subjective expectations.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Cogliati Dezza
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AP, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, Ghent, BE, Belgium; The Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, 10-12 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5EH, UK.
| | - C Maher
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AP, UK; The Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, 10-12 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - T Sharot
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AP, UK; The Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, 10-12 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5EH, UK; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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32
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Chen X, Twomey KE, Westermann G. Curiosity enhances incidental object encoding in 8-month-old infants. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 223:105508. [PMID: 35850003 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Recent research with adults indicates that curiosity induced by uncertainty enhances learning and memory outcomes and that the resolution of curiosity has a special role in curiosity-driven learning. However, the role of curiosity-based learning in early development is unclear. Here we presented 8-month-old infants with a novel looking time procedure to explore (a) whether uncertainty-induced curiosity enhances learning of incidental information and (b) whether uncertainty-induced curiosity leads infants to seek uncertainty resolution over novelty. In Experiment 1, infants saw blurred images to induce curiosity (Curiosity sequence) or a clear image (Non-curiosity sequence) followed by presentation of incidental objects. Despite looking equally to the incidental objects in both sequences, in a subsequent object recognition phase infants looked longer to incidental objects presented in the Non-curiosity condition compared with the Curiosity condition, indicating that curiosity induced by blurred pictures enhanced the processing of the incidental object, leading to a novelty preference for the incidental object shown in the Non-Curiosity condition. In Experiment 2, a blurred picture of a novel toy was first presented, followed by its corresponding clear picture paired with a clear picture of a new novel toy side by side. Infants showed no preference for either image, providing no evidence for a drive to resolve uncertainty. Overall, the current experiments suggest that curiosity has a broad attention-enhancing effect in infancy. Taking into account existing studies with older children and adults, we propose a developmental change in the function of curiosity, from this attentional enhancement to more goal-directed information seeking in older children and adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyun Chen
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK.
| | - Katherine E Twomey
- Division of Human Communication, Development and Hearing, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Gert Westermann
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK
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33
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Li Y, Daddaoua N, Horan M, Foley NC, Gottlieb J. Uncertainty modulates visual maps during noninstrumental information demand. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5911. [PMID: 36207316 PMCID: PMC9547007 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33585-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals are intrinsically motivated to obtain information independently of instrumental incentives. This motivation depends on two factors: a desire to resolve uncertainty by gathering accurate information and a desire to obtain positively-valenced observations, which predict favorable rather than unfavorable outcomes. To understand the neural mechanisms, we recorded parietal cortical activity implicated in prioritizing stimuli for spatial attention and gaze, in a task in which monkeys were free (but not trained) to obtain information about probabilistic non-contingent rewards. We show that valence and uncertainty independently modulated parietal neuronal activity, and uncertainty but not reward-related enhancement consistently correlated with behavioral sensitivity. The findings suggest uncertainty-driven and valence-driven information demand depend on partially distinct pathways, with the former being consistently related to parietal responses and the latter depending on additional mechanisms implemented in downstream structures. Curiosity is motivated by uncertainty and valence, but how uncertainty and valence are encoded in the brain remains poorly understood. Here, the authors show that parietal neurons are enhanced by both factors, but that they specifically predict visual information seeking based on uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne Li
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nabil Daddaoua
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mattias Horan
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nicholas C Foley
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jacqueline Gottlieb
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. .,Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. .,Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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34
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Klein-Flügge MC, Bongioanni A, Rushworth MFS. Medial and orbital frontal cortex in decision-making and flexible behavior. Neuron 2022; 110:2743-2770. [PMID: 35705077 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The medial frontal cortex and adjacent orbitofrontal cortex have been the focus of investigations of decision-making, behavioral flexibility, and social behavior. We review studies conducted in humans, macaques, and rodents and argue that several regions with different functional roles can be identified in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, perigenual anterior cingulate cortex, anterior medial frontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and medial and lateral parts of the orbitofrontal cortex. There is increasing evidence that the manner in which these areas represent the value of the environment and specific choices is different from subcortical brain regions and more complex than previously thought. Although activity in some regions reflects distributions of reward and opportunities across the environment, in other cases, activity reflects the structural relationships between features of the environment that animals can use to infer what decision to take even if they have not encountered identical opportunities in the past.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam C Klein-Flügge
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Level 6, West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Lane, Headington, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK.
| | - Alessandro Bongioanni
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Matthew F S Rushworth
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Level 6, West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
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35
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Dubey R, Griffiths TL, Lombrozo T. If it's important, then I'm curious: Increasing perceived usefulness stimulates curiosity. Cognition 2022; 226:105193. [PMID: 35696871 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Curiosity is considered essential for learning and sustained engagement, yet stimulating curiosity in educational contexts remains a challenge. Can people's curiosity about a scientific topic be stimulated by providing evidence that knowledge about the topic has potential value to society? Here, we show that increasing perceptions of 'social usefulness' regarding a scientific topic also increases curiosity and subsequent information search. Our results also show that simply presenting interesting facts is not enough to influence curiosity, and that people are more likely to be curious about a scientific topic if they perceive it to be useful personally and socially. Given the link between curiosity and learning, these results have important implications for science communication and education more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachit Dubey
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, USA.
| | - Thomas L Griffiths
- Departments of Psychology and Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, USA
| | - Tania Lombrozo
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, USA
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36
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Curiosity for information predicts wellbeing mediated by loneliness during COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7771. [PMID: 35545697 PMCID: PMC9094121 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11924-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic confronted humans with high uncertainty and lockdowns, which severely disrupted people’s daily social and health lifestyles, enhanced loneliness, and reduced well-being. Curiosity and information-seeking are central to behavior, fostering well-being and adaptation in changing environments. They may be particularly important to maintain well-being during the pandemic. Here, we investigated which motives drive information-seeking, and whether and how curiosity and information-seeking related to well-being and mood (excitement, anxiety). Additionally, we tested whether daily diet contributed to this relationship during lockdown. Participants (N = 183) completed questionnaires measuring curiosity, information-seeking, social and mental health. Using a smartphone app, participants submitted their daily food intake and lifestyle ratings for a week. We found participants had highest motivation to seek positive (vs. negative) information, concerning themselves more than others. Both trait curiosity and information-seeking predicted higher well-being, mediated by loneliness. Trait curiosity also predicted well-being and excitement days later. Considering diet, participants with lower trait curiosity ate food containing more tyrosine (i.e., dopamine precursor). Furthermore, participants consuming food high in sugar reported higher anxiety, which was specifically found in participants with relatively low, but not high, trait curiosity. Taken together, curiosity and information-seeking may benefit well-being and mood in high uncertain and challenging times, by interacting with lifestyle measures (loneliness and nutrition).
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37
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A meta-analytic investigation of the impact of curiosity-enhancing interventions. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03107-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractCuriosity is associated with a number of beneficial outcomes, such as greater life satisfaction, more work engagement and better academic performance. The connection between curiosity and beneficial outcomes supports the importance of examining whether it is possible to increase curiosity and to investigate what approaches may be effective in facilitating curiosity. This meta-analysis consolidated the effects of curiosity-enhancing interventions. Across 41 randomized controlled trials, with a total of 4,496 participants, interventions significantly increased curiosity. The weighted effect size was Hedges' g = 0.57 [0.44, 0.70]. These results indicated that interventions were effective across a variety of intervention principles used, with participants in various age groups, across various measures, and over different time periods. Interventions aiming to increase general curiosity showed larger effect sizes than interventions aiming to increase realm-specific curiosity. Interventions incorporating mystery or game playing had especially high effect sizes. Because higher levels of curiosity tend to be associated with various beneficial outcomes, the finding that across studies interventions are effective in increasing curiosity holds promise for future efforts to increase curiosity to bring about additional benefits.
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38
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Abir Y, Marvin CB, van Geen C, Leshkowitz M, Hassin RR, Shohamy D. An energizing role for motivation in information-seeking during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2310. [PMID: 35484153 PMCID: PMC9050882 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30011-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of understanding and managing information seeking behavior. Information-seeking in humans is often viewed as irrational rather than utility maximizing. Here, we hypothesized that this apparent disconnect between utility and information-seeking is due to a latent third variable, motivation. We quantified information-seeking, learning, and COVID-19-related concern (which we used as a proxy for motivation regarding COVID-19 and the changes in circumstance it caused) in a US-based sample (n = 5376) during spring 2020. We found that self-reported levels of COVID-19 concern were associated with directed seeking of COVID-19-related content and better memory for such information. Interestingly, this specific motivational state was also associated with a general enhancement of information-seeking for content unrelated to COVID-19. These effects were associated with commensurate changes to utility expectations and were dissociable from the influence of non-specific anxiety. Thus, motivation both directs and energizes epistemic behavior, linking together utility and curiosity. Information-seeking behavior in humans is often viewed as irrational rather than utility maximizing. Here the authors describe data obtained in Spring 2020 showing that participants’ concern about COVID-19 was related not only to their drive to seek information about the virus, but also to their curiosity about other more general topics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaniv Abir
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | | | - Camilla van Geen
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Maya Leshkowitz
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ran R Hassin
- Department of Psychology and The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Daphna Shohamy
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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39
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Cogliati Dezza I, Cleeremans A, Alexander WH. Independent and interacting value systems for reward and information in the human brain. eLife 2022; 11:66358. [PMID: 35416151 PMCID: PMC9064296 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Theories of prefrontal cortex (PFC) as optimizing reward value have been widely deployed to explain its activity in a diverse range of contexts, with substantial empirical support in neuroeconomics and decision neuroscience. Similar neural circuits, however, have also been associated with information processing. By using computational modeling, model-based functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis, and a novel experimental paradigm, we aim at establishing whether a dedicated and independent value system for information exists in the human PFC. We identify two regions in the human PFC that independently encode reward and information. Our results provide empirical evidence for PFC as an optimizer of independent information and reward signals during decision-making under realistic scenarios, with potential implications for the interpretation of PFC activity in both healthy and clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Cogliati Dezza
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Cleeremans
- Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - William H Alexander
- Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, United States
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40
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Kaanders P, Sepulveda P, Folke T, Ortoleva P, De Martino B. Humans actively sample evidence to support prior beliefs. eLife 2022; 11:e71768. [PMID: 35404234 PMCID: PMC9038198 DOI: 10.7554/elife.71768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
No one likes to be wrong. Previous research has shown that participants may underweight information incompatible with previous choices, a phenomenon called confirmation bias. In this paper, we argue that a similar bias exists in the way information is actively sought. We investigate how choice influences information gathering using a perceptual choice task and find that participants sample more information from a previously chosen alternative. Furthermore, the higher the confidence in the initial choice, the more biased information sampling becomes. As a consequence, when faced with the possibility of revising an earlier decision, participants are more likely to stick with their original choice, even when incorrect. Critically, we show that agency controls this phenomenon. The effect disappears in a fixed sampling condition where presentation of evidence is controlled by the experimenter, suggesting that the way in which confirmatory evidence is acquired critically impacts the decision process. These results suggest active information acquisition plays a critical role in the propagation of strongly held beliefs over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Kaanders
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Pradyumna Sepulveda
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Tomas Folke
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Rutgers UniversityNewarkUnited States
- Centre for Business Research, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Pietro Ortoleva
- Department of Economics and Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
| | - Benedetto De Martino
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
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41
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Hilchey MD, Rondina R, Soman D. Information‐seeking when information doesn't matter. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/bdm.2280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D. Hilchey
- Rotman School of Management University of Toronto 105 St George St Toronto Ontario M5S 3E6 Canada
| | - Renante Rondina
- Rotman School of Management University of Toronto 105 St George St Toronto Ontario M5S 3E6 Canada
| | - Dilip Soman
- Rotman School of Management University of Toronto 105 St George St Toronto Ontario M5S 3E6 Canada
- Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Science and Economics, Rotman School of Management University of Toronto 105 St George St Toronto Ontario M5S 3E6 Canada
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42
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Nakamura S, Reinders H, Darasawang P. A Classroom-Based Study on the Antecedents of Epistemic Curiosity in L2 Learning. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2022; 51:293-308. [PMID: 35064860 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-022-09839-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This classroom-based study investigated the antecedents of epistemic curiosity among 25 Thai university students in an English oral communication course. Using a whole-class survey and focus group interview, we recursively asked the students to describe a time in class when they experienced epistemic curiosity and the reasons behind it. A modified version of constant comparative analysis suggested seven thematic factors as the antecedents of epistemic curiosity and positive affect linked to its experience. Utilizing descriptions of the lessons kept in the teacher's record, we provide contextualized accounts of how and why the students experienced epistemic curiosity in class. We conclude by offering pedagogical suggestions for creating learning environments that inspire language learners' epistemic curiosity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sachiko Nakamura
- Center for English as a Lingua Franca, Tamagawa University, 6 chome 1, 194-0041, Tamagawagakuen, Tokyo, Machida, Japan.
| | - Hayo Reinders
- Department of Languages, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, 126 Pracha Uthit Rd, Khwaeng Bang Mot, Khet Thung Khru, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, 10140, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Pornapit Darasawang
- Department of Languages, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, 126 Pracha Uthit Rd, Khwaeng Bang Mot, Khet Thung Khru, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, 10140, Bangkok, Thailand
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43
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Monosov IE, Rushworth MFS. Interactions between ventrolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex during learning and behavioural change. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:196-210. [PMID: 34234288 PMCID: PMC8617208 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01079-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Hypotheses and beliefs guide credit assignment - the process of determining which previous events or actions caused an outcome. Adaptive hypothesis formation and testing are crucial in uncertain and changing environments in which associations and meanings are volatile. Despite primates' abilities to form and test hypotheses, establishing what is causally responsible for the occurrence of particular outcomes remains a fundamental challenge for credit assignment and learning. Hypotheses about what surprises are due to stochasticity inherent in an environment as opposed to real, systematic changes are necessary for identifying the environment's predictive features, but are often hard to test. We review evidence that two highly interconnected frontal cortical regions, anterior cingulate cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal area 47/12o, provide a biological substrate for linking two crucial components of hypothesis-formation and testing: the control of information seeking and credit assignment. Neuroimaging, targeted disruptions, and neurophysiological studies link an anterior cingulate - 47/12o circuit to generation of exploratory behaviour, non-instrumental information seeking, and interpretation of subsequent feedback in the service of credit assignment. Our observations support the idea that information seeking and credit assignment are linked at the level of neural circuits and explain why this circuit is important for ensuring behaviour is flexible and adaptive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya E Monosov
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Pain Center, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Matthew F S Rushworth
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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44
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Goh AXA, Bennett D, Bode S, Chong TTJ. Neurocomputational mechanisms underlying the subjective value of information. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1346. [PMID: 34903804 PMCID: PMC8669024 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02850-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans have a striking desire to actively seek new information, even when it is devoid of any instrumental utility. However, the mechanisms that drive individuals' subjective preference for information remain unclear. Here, we used fMRI to examine the processing of subjective information value, by having participants decide how much effort they were willing to trade-off for non-instrumental information. We showed that choices were best described by a model that accounted for: (1) the variability in individuals' estimates of uncertainty, (2) their desire to reduce that uncertainty, and (3) their subjective preference for positively valenced information. Model-based analyses revealed the anterior cingulate as a key node that encodes the subjective value of information across multiple stages of decision-making - including when information was prospectively valued, and when the outcome was definitively delivered. These findings emphasise the multidimensionality of information value, and reveal the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying the variability in individuals' desire to physically pursue informative outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel X-A Goh
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Daniel Bennett
- Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08540, USA
| | - Stefan Bode
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Trevor T-J Chong
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia.
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia.
- Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, 3065, Australia.
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45
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Liquin EG, Lombrozo T. Motivated to learn: An account of explanatory satisfaction. Cogn Psychol 2021; 132:101453. [PMID: 34875484 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2021.101453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Many explanations have a distinctive, positive phenomenology: receiving or generating these explanations feels satisfying. Accordingly, we might expect this feeling of explanatory satisfaction to reinforce and motivate inquiry. Across five studies, we investigate how explanatory satisfaction plays this role: by motivating and reinforcing inquiry quite generally ("brute motivation" account), or by selectively guiding inquiry to support useful learning about the target of explanation ("aligned motivation" account). In Studies 1-2, we find that satisfaction with an explanation is related to several measures of perceived useful learning, and that greater satisfaction in turn predicts stronger curiosity about questions related to the explanation. However, in Studies 2-4, we find only tenuous evidence that satisfaction is related to actual learning, measured objectively through multiple-choice or free recall tests. In Study 4, we additionally show that perceptions of learning fully explain one seemingly specious feature of explanatory preferences studied in prior research: the preference for uninformative "reductive" explanations. Finally, in Study 5, we find that perceived learning is (at least in part) causally responsible for feelings of satisfaction. Together, these results point to what we call the "imperfectly aligned motivation" account: explanatory satisfaction selectively motivates inquiry towards learning explanatory information, but primarily through fallible perceptions of learning. Thus, satisfaction is likely to guide individuals towards lines of inquiry that support perceptions of learning, whether or not individuals actually are learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily G Liquin
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Peretsman Scully Hall, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
| | - Tania Lombrozo
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Peretsman Scully Hall, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
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46
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Abstract
Vast amounts of personalized information are now available to individuals. A vital research challenge is to establish how people decide what information they wish to obtain. Here, over five studies examining information-seeking in different domains we show that information-seeking is associated with three diverse motives. Specifically, we find that participants assess whether information is useful in directing action, how it will make them feel, and whether it relates to concepts they think of often. We demonstrate that participants integrate these assessments into a calculation of the value of information that explains information seeking or its avoidance. Different individuals assign different weights to these three factors when seeking information. Using a longitudinal approach, we find that the relative weights assigned to these information-seeking motives within an individual show stability over time, and are related to mental health as assessed using a battery of psychopathology questionnaires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Kelly
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK.
| | - Tali Sharot
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, WC1B 5EH, UK.
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47
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Kaanders P, Nili H, O'Reilly JX, Hunt L. Medial Frontal Cortex Activity Predicts Information Sampling in Economic Choice. J Neurosci 2021; 41:8403-8413. [PMID: 34413207 PMCID: PMC8496191 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0392-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Decision-making not only requires agents to decide what to choose but also how much information to sample before committing to a choice. Previously established frameworks for economic choice argue for a deliberative process of evidence accumulation across time. These tacitly acknowledge a role of information sampling in that decisions are only made once sufficient evidence is acquired, yet few experiments have explicitly placed information sampling under the participant's control. Here, we use fMRI to investigate the neural basis of information sampling in economic choice by allowing participants (n = 30, sex not recorded) to actively sample information in a multistep decision task. We show that medial frontal cortex (MFC) activity is predictive of further information sampling before choice. Choice difficulty (inverse value difference, keeping sensory difficulty constant) was also encoded in MFC, but this effect was explained away by the inclusion of information sampling as a coregressor in the general linear model. A distributed network of regions across the prefrontal cortex encoded key features of the sampled information at the time it was presented. We propose that MFC is an important controller of the extent to which information is gathered before committing to an economic choice. This role may explain why MFC activity has been associated with evidence accumulation in previous studies in which information sampling was an implicit rather than explicit feature of the decision.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The decisions we make are determined by the information we have sampled before committing to a choice. Accumulator frameworks of decision-making tacitly acknowledge the need to sample further information during the evidence accumulation process until a decision boundary is reached. However, relatively few studies explicitly place this decision to sample further information under the participant's control. In this fMRI study, we find that MFC activity is related to information sampling decisions in a multistep economic choice task. This suggests that an important role of evidence representations within MFC may be to guide adaptive sequential decisions to sample further information before committing to a final decision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Kaanders
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, England
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, England
| | - Hamed Nili
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, England
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, England
| | - Jill X O'Reilly
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, England
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, England
| | - Laurence Hunt
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, England
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, England
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48
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Dissociable mechanisms of information sampling in prefrontal cortex and the dopaminergic system. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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49
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Dynamic Representation of the Subjective Value of Information. J Neurosci 2021; 41:8220-8232. [PMID: 34380761 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0423-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
To improve future decisions, people should seek information based on the value of information (VOI), which depends on the current evidence and the reward structure of the upcoming decision. When additional evidence is supplied, people should update the VOI to adjust subsequent information seeking, but the neurocognitive mechanisms of this updating process remain unknown. We used a modified beads task to examine how the VOI is represented and updated in the human brain of both sexes. We theoretically derived, and empirically verified, a normative prediction that the VOI depends on decision evidence and is biased by reward asymmetry. Using fMRI, we found that the subjective VOI is represented in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Critically, this VOI representation was updated when additional evidence was supplied, showing that the DLPFC dynamically tracks the up-to-date VOI over time. These results provide new insights into how humans adaptively seek information in the service of decision-making.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT For adaptive decision-making, people should seek information based on what they currently know and the extent to which additional information could improve the decision outcome, formalized as the VOI. Doing so requires dynamic updating of VOI according to outcome values and newly arriving evidence. We formalize these principles using a normative model and show that information seeking in people adheres to them. Using fMRI, we show that the underlying subjective VOI is represented in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and, critically, that it is updated in real time according to newly arriving evidence. Our results reveal the computational and neural dynamics through which evidence and values are combined to inform constantly evolving information-seeking decisions.
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50
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Curiosity or savouring? Information seeking is modulated by both uncertainty and valence. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257011. [PMID: 34559816 PMCID: PMC8462690 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Curiosity is pervasive in our everyday lives, but we know little about the factors that contribute to this drive. In the current study, we assessed whether curiosity about uncertain outcomes is modulated by the valence of the information, i.e. whether the information is good or bad news. Using a lottery task in which outcome uncertainty, expected value and outcome valence (gain versus loss) were manipulated independently, we found that curiosity is overall higher for gains compared with losses and that curiosity increased with increasing outcome uncertainty for both gains and losses. These effects of uncertainty and valence did not interact, indicating that the motivation to reduce uncertainty and the motivation to maximize positive information represent separate, independent drives.
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